I agree with Matt you will not beat Pro Dive they are a very professional operation.
If you want to stay in Canada try Divers Down in London.
If you want to stay in Canada try Divers Down in London.
Where to become a scuba instuctor? Help!
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elliptikal:
I second this opinion. People who learn to dive & become instructors in "less than ideal" conditions are not only well respected around the world, but are also very marketable.
There are several good Course Directors in Ontario & Quebec that I can think of right now....
Hank49
Contributor
SubMariner:
I read this posted on SB more than a few times that cold water divers are "better divers". I'd beg to differ. I mean, I've driven 18 wheelers and dual axel cement mixers as well as cars of varying types. Granted, the trucks were more equipment intensive with 13 speed dual axels, air brakes, turning radius, shifting with no clutch etc etc....but did that type of driving make me a better car driver? If you want to be a good truck driver, drive a truck. If you want to be a good car driver, drive a car. Just because you drive a truck doesn't mean you can go out and race Formula 1. Cold water divers aren't doing anything an experienced warm water diver couldn't learn in a very short time. (If one was crazy enough to want to move to cold water)
I agree: as a blanket statement, "cold water divers are better than warm water divers" is somewhat off-putting. However, having said that, the point isn't that the skills can't be learned; just that until they are learned, warm water divers wouldn't have had to learn how to cope with heavier exposure protection, heavier weight belts, cold water, poor visibility, cooler surface temperatures.
All the equipment and environmental conditions that cold water divers experience give them an edge when they move into warm water diving. The same cannot be said of warm water divers moving into a cold water environment.
Getting back on topic. Submariner knows what he's talking about.... I don't really understand the logic of doing instructor training in paradise if there's a chance you want to teach outside of paradise. Regardless, from my perspective, if you can handle teaching in rough conditions, everything else would be a breeze and therefore you'd be a better instructor overall.
All the equipment and environmental conditions that cold water divers experience give them an edge when they move into warm water diving. The same cannot be said of warm water divers moving into a cold water environment.
Getting back on topic. Submariner knows what he's talking about.... I don't really understand the logic of doing instructor training in paradise if there's a chance you want to teach outside of paradise. Regardless, from my perspective, if you can handle teaching in rough conditions, everything else would be a breeze and therefore you'd be a better instructor overall.
Hank49
Contributor
scubagirl15:
Rough conditions don't occur only in cold climates. A good diver is a good diver and can adjust to any conditions. It's about knowing the dive and adjusting to it. Buddy awareness, dive planning. You can have extremely adverse conditions in warm water too. I've lived in the tropics for 28 years and see cold water trained divers on vacation all the time. They don't look any better than the locals to me.
As to training in warm or cold....why train in cold if you're going to work in the dive industry? the real work is in the tropics. I mean, how many divers do their dive vacation in Toronto? or Scotland? Or any other cold place? About as many snow skiers that go to the Big Ilse of Hawaii?
Hank49:Rough conditions don't occur only in cold climates. A good diver is a good diver and can adjust to any conditions. It's about knowing the dive and adjusting to it. Buddy awareness, dive planning. You can have extremely adverse conditions in warm water too. I've lived in the tropics for 28 years and see cold water trained divers on vacation all the time. They don't look any better than the locals to me.
As to training in warm or cold....why train in cold if you're going to work in the dive industry? the real work is in the tropics. I mean, how many divers do their dive vacation in Toronto? or Scotland? Or any other cold place? About as many snow skiers that go to the Big Ilse of Hawaii?
Before everyone "gets their back up" on my comments, let me give you a little background.
I learned to dive and became an Instructor in TGWN, diving in The Great Lakes plus just about every little gunky mudhole that was deep enough to get some downtime in Ontario & PQ. However, besides diving the NW, and the Red Sea, I've dove a fair bit of the Caribbean, esp since I lived aboard a sailboat in the Bahamas for 2 years running a sail/dive charter with my s/o.
We ran a very successful scuba business as a sideline in Ontario BEFORE going to the Bahamas. So the philosophy that you MUST be in a tropical location to make money at teaching scuba is not true. There is a good dive population in Ontario that CAN be tapped, you simply have to make the effort to do so. Of course this includes dive travel to those previously mentioned exotic destinations. But in this scenario you can actually get to dive for free if YOU organize/run the dive trips.
Now to the other matter of training in cold water. Sorry, it's going to be a hard sell convincing me that diving exclusively in the unlimited vis and low stress waters of places like Coz is going to prepare me as well as the low vis, silty and often cold waters of temperate climates. Oh yeah... toss in some ocean dives (Channel Islands, etc.) for good measure.
Which diver do you think has a higher skill/confidence level? Cozumel Carl or Great Lakes Gertie?
Just my $0.02...
Hank49
Contributor
SubMariner:
I just see it as two different things. Cold water, more equipment is like operating a bulldozer on a hillside. Warm water is driving a car. Each has it's limitations. My point is that training in cold, low viz water won't make you more competent in warm water than one who dives only there just as a bull dozer operator is no better driving a car than say, a traveling salesman.
But please, explain what you'll be better at in warm water than a warm water trained diver. Buoancy? Trim? Gas consumption? To me, diving in bad vis, cold water would be like climbing a high mountain. You may feel great afterwards because of what you accomplished, but was it fun while you did it? No. More like a hard day's work. But a warm, clear, deep wall.....lots of fish...aahhhhhhh
AboutUtila
Registered
Utila is an ideal location for your Instructor Development Course.
There are 5 Course Directors resident in Utila with whom you can take the IDC.
2 Course Directors operate out of the Utila Dive Centre.
Andy Phillips (the senior Course Director) has a personal web site www.GoProUtila.com which lists the dates and prices for the Instructor Development Courses scheduled for 2005.
1 Course Director operates out of Deep Blue Divers and his web site is www.IDCutila.com, and finally,
2 Course Directors operate out of the Bay Islands College of Diving, although one of them, "Jungle Jim" (Email: JungleJim33@yahooo.com) is more of an independent operator.
It is unlikely anybody will guarentee you work as a Scuba Diving Instructor before the course, since a lot deopends upon your personality and how you would fit in with the various Dive Shop staff/team. That said, a very high proportion of Scuba Instructors who complete their IDC in Utila do tend to stay on and work for 3 months or more at one of the local Dive Shops.
For more information about Utila and Scuba Diving in Utila, check out www.AboutUtila.com
Regards - Mark
There are 5 Course Directors resident in Utila with whom you can take the IDC.
2 Course Directors operate out of the Utila Dive Centre.
Andy Phillips (the senior Course Director) has a personal web site www.GoProUtila.com which lists the dates and prices for the Instructor Development Courses scheduled for 2005.
1 Course Director operates out of Deep Blue Divers and his web site is www.IDCutila.com, and finally,
2 Course Directors operate out of the Bay Islands College of Diving, although one of them, "Jungle Jim" (Email: JungleJim33@yahooo.com) is more of an independent operator.
It is unlikely anybody will guarentee you work as a Scuba Diving Instructor before the course, since a lot deopends upon your personality and how you would fit in with the various Dive Shop staff/team. That said, a very high proportion of Scuba Instructors who complete their IDC in Utila do tend to stay on and work for 3 months or more at one of the local Dive Shops.
For more information about Utila and Scuba Diving in Utila, check out www.AboutUtila.com
Regards - Mark
I did the IDC at Ocean Divers in Key Largo earlier this year, and Simon runs a great program. He teaches you how to be an instructor, not just how to pass the IE, but in so doing you can't help but pass the IE.
Several of the other candidates from other schools remarked they wished they had gone to Ocean Divers.
pm me if you have any questions, or want more info.
G.
Several of the other candidates from other schools remarked they wished they had gone to Ocean Divers.
pm me if you have any questions, or want more info.
G.
bonniemckenna
New
If you are interested in getting a quick start with plenty of students I suggest GUAM. Micronesia Divers Association and Guam Tropical Dive Station have IDC's several times a year. There are two large military bases on the island and as a consequence there are always students. The water is warm and you are in the middle of the Micronesian islands where the diving is nothing short of spectacular.
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